Stephen King is arguably one of the best writers alive today, if not of all time. He made himself famous with books such as Carrie and The Shining, and more recent books such as Cell. He specialises in Horror books, although he has also branched of into fantasy books on several occasions. In my opinion this book is somewhere in between horror and science fiction.
The story follows the struggles of single father Andy McGee and his adorable daughter Charlie, who because of a government experiment in Andy's youth have given both of the psionic abilities.
Charlie has the ability to start fires using her mind, a talent known as pyrokinesis. She is the story's main character, and the government assosiation "The Shop" are constantly hunting her down in order to test and harness her seemingly boundless power. Stephen King portrays the struggles of the young girl (around the age of 7 in the novel), as she tries cope with her extraordinary power and the government attention it is giving her with great emotion. Without giving too much away the ending of the novel is such that we want to know so much more, and yet you feel truely happy for Charlie.
Andy however has the power to use the "Push" which is talent that lets him put thoughts into people's minds. Similair to the Jedi mind trick that features in the Star Wars films. He uses this gift rarely however as he suffers headaches whenever he uses it. He has also found that using the gift can drive people insane, which is often not Andy's intention at all.
Overall this book is great, and has a storyline full of ups and downs and unexpected turns. It is completely addictive, and whats better it lasts over 500 pages. Despite it being quite lengthy it is a very easy read for horror fans and science fiction fans alike. It is one of Stephen Kings best novels in my opinion, and I would definately advice reading the book instead of or prior to the film, which really doesn't do the book justice.
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Advantages: Paranoia, strange powers, men in black - if you like that kind of thing, check this out. Disadvantages: On the other hand, if you don't like that kind of thing...
Aug 29th, 2008
(Sep 12th, 2008)
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